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Six years later, Korean Air will finally absorb Asiana into its brand and retire the airline on December 17, 2026. The deadline to book Asiana flights with Star Alliance award tickets is about two weeks earlier: on December 1, 2026.
Asiana to Merge with Korean Air
The original acquisition happened six years ago, so Asiana has effectively been on borrowed time ever since. It was certain that Asiana would no longer exist, but the exact timeline has been unknown until now. On May 13 and 14, Korean Air signed all the legal paperwork, and December 17 is the last date on which Asiana will exist as its own brand.
The exact details remain unclear, but the expectation is that Korean Air will fully absorb Asiana into SkyTeam and rebrand all flights under the Korean Air banner. As of right now, Asiana is in Star Alliance.
Asiana will fully merge with Korean Air on December 17
For the customer, it’s all very straightforward: if you like Korean Air and are a loyal SkyTeam member, this is good news. I suspect this is bad news for most Canadians because not having Asiana eliminates a Star Alliance option for booking award flights across the Pacific. After all, Aeroplan is by far the most accessible program for Canadians.
Book Aeroplan Flights on Asiana Before December 1
December 1 is the last date that Asiana flights can be booked with Star Alliance awards, as the following weeks are likely blocked off to create a buffer for the integration process.
Taking a look at Asiana’s route network, all flights to/from North America cost 75,000 Aeroplan points one-way in business class and will remain at that price even if you book after the June 1 changes.
Asiana North American route network
The destinations served in North America are New York JFK, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. All are under 7,500 miles in distance and are unaffected in the June 1 round of changes.
However, any connecting flights can increase the price, so if you live in Toronto and can only find space to Los Angeles, adding a connecting flight to Toronto will cost 102,500 points after June 1 since the total distance is now over 7,500 miles. Therefore, I’d still recommend booking before June 1 if you find suitable award space.
Routings of 8,169 miles in distance will cost 102,500 Aeroplan points as of June 1
Asiana operates both Airbus A350s and Airbus A380s on its North American routes, which feature the same business class seat. It’s not the most cutting-edge product anymore, but it’s still a perfectly comfortable 1-2-1 forward-facing seat.
Asiana A380 business class (photo creds to Sash)
Availability tends to be pretty decent (as far as transpacific flights go), much better than EVA and ANA in any case. West Coast flights tend to have more space than New York.
Takeaway
Asiana’s disappearance marks the end of an era for Star Alliance travellers. While Korean Air absorbing the airline makes strategic sense, it’s still a loss for Canadians who rely on Aeroplan to access transpacific business class award space. Asiana has consistently offered solid availability, especially from the U.S. West Coast, and that’s something we’ll almost certainly miss once the airline fully exits Star Alliance.
If you’ve ever wanted to try Asiana business class, now is the time. December 1, 2026 is effectively the last day to book Asiana flights with Aeroplan and other Star Alliance programs. Between that deadline and Aeroplan’s June 1 award chart changes, there’s a strong case for locking in any redemptions on Asiana sooner rather than later.
1 comment
what’s the trick on finding Asiana availability? you waid west coast availability is good but I am finding 0 out of SEA on few days. all I see is Air Canana seats at 400k points!